A Winnipeg minister is continuing a church event for non-church-attending people.

"Basically God put it on my heart to reach out to people that were like me. That either grew up in the church and became disenfranchised, or had questions that didn't feel like they got answers, or just don't even want to walk into one of those buildings," says Rodney Neufeld, leader of Night Church and youth leader at Abundant Life Church. 

Neufeld felt led to start something different, and that's when he came up with Night Church. Initially, it was only going to be available to people in the summer months, but that changed recently. 

"This fall I'm going to night courses in a couple of weeks, I'm returning to work, I do youth at the church as well and we have a few other responsibilities, which is why my wife and I said just the summer. Within about a week, the Holy Spirit just took over."

That's when the couple decided to figure out how to keep this going. One way the Neufeld's are achieving this is changing the days, from Wednesday to Sunday nights. 

"We couldn't let it go. We had people that wouldn't step foot in a church are coming and engaging and growing. They're finding their faith and way back to God and we can't just leave them hanging."

Starting up Night Church was a unique experience that left an impression on Neufeld. 

"The summer was pretty cool, but bizarre. I came in one day and three people showed up. I thought 'oh boy' but then God put it on my heart, 'Remember, I'm the God of the ones.' That was enough. I preached my heart out, we engaged, they asked questions, we talked, shared, and we prayed."

He says that COVID really opened up many people's minds to hearing more about God and asking bigger questions. 

"I want to have real conversations and answer questions as best I could, help people see more clearly the God that I love."

Neufeld is inviting anyone who is curious about God or faith to join their evenings on Sundays at 6:30 pm at 1396 Plessis Road in Winnipeg.

"Right now, God has 9 billion-plus people on this planet that He uniquely made. Each one of them is different, with different loves and hates, skills and abilities, the way that they worship and perceive the world. There isn't a one-size-fits-all."

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